We work with Travellers to build a just, inclusive and welcoming community in and through faith

A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland

Pavee Point welcomed the publication of the ESRI’s research – ‘A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland’ and commended it for its comprehensiveness in methodology and in terms of the broad context of the study.

“The research confirms a lot of what we have been saying over the years – that Travellers have benefited less than non-Travellers in developments in health, education, employment and ac...commodation,” said Martin Collins, Pavee Point Director speaking at the launch on January 17, 2017.

“Given the developments in education over the last 40 years it is damning to think that, as the ESRI has stated, the educational gap between Travellers and non-Travellers has actually increased rather than decreased,” he said.

The report acknowledges the overcrowded living conditions that the majority of Travellers experience and the dire lack of water and sanitation that a minority of Travellers experience.

“Rightly, in our view, the ESRI point out that the disadvantage experienced by Travellers in our society is so serious as to warrant specific policy measures and in the case of health we call for an urgent action plan to implement the findings of AITHS – a study which has been gathering dust in the Department of Health for some years”said Mr. Collins.

The ESRI calls in this report for an ethnic identifier to be added to administrative systems as a priority so that the circumstances of Travellers can be monitored over time.